


Regulus of Antimony

by cae_fanfic



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-06
Updated: 2017-03-16
Packaged: 2018-09-28 17:16:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,581
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10141130
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cae_fanfic/pseuds/cae_fanfic
Summary: Assigned to investigate unrest in the city of Regulus, the Elric brothers find themselves entangled in a web of danger and mystery that will test their skills to the limit.This is a chain fanfic written by the members of Cal Animage Epsilon, UC Irvine's anime club. Tags may change as the work progresses.





	1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1 author: OfTheRose**

The heavy smoke from the train’s exhaust signaled the arrival of its passengers at Fotcett’s station, where two young men were about to start their next adventure.

“Brother, wake up!” came an uncharacteristically young voice echoing from the inside of the outlandish suit of armour.

“Huh...let me sleep...five more minutes...” replied the red and black pile seated across from his taller companion.

“But brother, we’re about to arrive at the station, and it’s already evening! You can sleep later, but right now we have to figure out where we’re going to stay for the night!”

“Ugh! If that damn Colonel hadn’t sent us on another stupid assignment, we wouldn’t have to worry about that!” Sitting up, the pile of red and black revealed itself to be a young man of short stature with an irritated expression on his face, who stared back at the unmoving, expressionless face of the suit of armour.

“Fine! I’m up!  We’ll find this stupid town first, figure out where to stay the night and hopefully finish this assignment before the day is out tomorrow, and be back on our way to Central City!”

“You’re far too optimistic about this. What even was the assignment the Colonel gave you?”

“Hmm. All he said in the letter he left was that there was some unrest in Regulus, and to investigate it and report back. Pretty shitty explanation if you ask me.”

“Regulus is nearby, right?”

“Yeah, but apparently its town isn’t big enough and too out of the way for there to be a station there, so Fotcett’s as close as we’re gonna get to it.”

“Maybe we can ask around for directions?”

“We’re going to have to if we want to get this over with.”

At that moment the train’s steady pace slowed to a stop, and its passengers disembarked at the humble station of Amestris’ most major southwest town.

Once the young alchemists had stepped off the platform, they immediately headed off into town to search for directions to their assignment.

“You know what? I’m hungry! Screw the Colonel, screw the assignment, I’m eating first,” announced Ed.

“Brother, we’re supposed to be finding directions!”

“Yeah, well, we can do that after I eat!”

Entering the nearest pub, the pair quickly seated themselves at the far back corner of the room. Lanterns were already lit, as the sun was quickly making its descent, and their glow cast long shadows off young Alphonse’s tall form and alerted the staff working there to the two’s presence.

“Well, hello there. Two travelers, I see! What can I get for ya?” asked the young woman wearing an apron and using a broom to sweep the floor.

“Just whatever’s good, and make it double. Money’s no obstacle!” Upon hearing this, the young woman excitedly went off to prepare the boy’s meals.

“Brother we don’t have time for this. The sun’s already going down and we still need to find the town,” Al insisted.

“It’s fine if it gets too late. We’ll just stay here. Places like this always have rooms, right?”

At that moment the young woman returned with a pitcher of water and two tin cups. “So is there anything else I can get you? Where are you two from?” she asked easily, clearly wanting to see if she could make a few more cenz off the two, but trying to be as polite about it as possible.

“Well we’re coming from Central City, but we’re supposed to be trying to find Regulus. The town. Have you heard of it?” replied Al.

“Oh.” The woman’s expression turned dark. “No, you don’t wanna go there. Not right now at least.”

Interest piqued, Ed turned his head to ask why.

“Well, the thing is, that town is smack in the middle of Creta and Aerugo. I mean it’s still in our territory. But with the war and unsteady on-and-off again cease-fires, things haven’t been going so well for those folks. Apparently Regulus’ in hot water with the border towns from both sides.

“If I was you, I’d stay away from that mess,” the woman finished.  “Let the military handle it.”

Looking at one another and trying not to laugh, Ed and Al decided not to inform the lady that that’s exactly what the military _was_ doing by sending them. “Well, thanks for the warning, but we still have to head there. Important work and all,” replied Ed.

Sighing, the young woman said, “Well if you _must_ go, at least keep an eye on each other. There’s been rumors of some pretty nasty bandits there. Good people, going into that town and trying to provide supplies, end up coming back shaken and telling crazy stories about teleporting bandits.” She paused to think and then corrected herself.  “Well, the lot of them were probably drunk during that part. But they came back cenz-less regardless, so watch yourselves.”

With that, she left to finish preparing their meals and to see to a group of new customers who had just come through the door.

“Thank you again, miss,” replied Alphonse, though he went ignored by the busy woman. He turned to his brother, only to see a contemplative expression on his face, though it quickly changed to an unabashed smirk.

“Well, Al, it looks like this assignment just got a whole lot more exciting.” Ed paused a moment before continuing, laughing loudly and catching the attention of the other patrons in the room. “Remind me to thank the Colonel when we get back!

* * *

 

A/N: So this is a chain fic if you didn’t already read the description. Which means that I’m the author for this chapter only. The rest of my club will continue on with the story, and if they know what’s good for them, then they won’t ruin the sanctity of my all-time favorite series. Technically this will be my first published fic, but I’ll be posting other fics, _and maybe more stuff related to this_ , on my actual Ao3 account at OfTheRose.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2 author: booksong**

They did end up spending the night at the little pub; despite Al’s continuing worries, Ed knew his brother was just as worn out from the long train journey.  In return, even though it went against his urge to sleep in while they had the chance, Ed made sure to be up and ready early the next morning so they could start the mission properly.

The serving woman from the previous day agreed to point them in the direction of Regulus, although she was clearly still reluctant about it.  All through their quick breakfast, she repeated her warnings about the border town’s disagreements with its neighbors Creta and Aerugo, and the strange ‘teleporting bandits’ reports.

“People sure do get worked up about little things out here… There’s a war going on and she acted like we were gonna die from some townspeople who are probably waving pitchforks or something at worst.”  Ed yawned, glad the town was a couple miles out so that they could stretch their legs (or in his case, stretch his leg and make sure the automail one didn’t get too stiff in the joints).

“I guess they haven’t really seen the war the way we have, Brother… It’s probably natural to be scared of the things that are happening closest to you and the people you care about,” Al reminded him.  Ed just grunted, the way he did when Al made a good point and he didn’t want to agree outright.

“I wonder what they’re fighting about, though?” Al continued.  “We didn’t really ask. Do you think it’s territory? Oh, I hope it’s not another weird religious thing like Liore again.”

“I think I can guess. I was taking a closer look at the map last night after you fell asleep, and look.”  Ed fished out the crumpled map that was one of the only things he’d been given along with the Colonel’s orders.  Regulus and the other two border towns were marked as messy, hastily scribbled additions to it, but Ed pointed to the longer inscription above the town’s dot.

The town’s full title was written as ‘Regulus of Antimony.’

“Antimony?” Al’s armor creaked as he leaned over to look at the map as they walked.  “Like the element, right?”

“Probably.”  Ed stuffed the map carelessly back into his coat.  “If they bothered to put it on there, it’s either a stupid hint from the Colonel, or it’s something the town is pretty well known for.  Either way, I bet it has something to do with what they’re fighting about.”

“Antimony…”  Al was quiet for a moment, and then he recited crisply, as if he were giving a report to a teacher or superior officer, “Metalloid, occurs naturally chiefly in the form of the sulfide mineral stibnite, three stable forms…”

“I memorized all the same charts you did, no need to tell _me_ ,” Ed interrupted, though without real annoyance.

“Sorry, Brother.  It helps me remember the elemental properties, and I thought that might tell us something about why it’s important.”

“Probably easier to just ask when we get there than waste time worrying about it.  That’s probably it, up there.”  Ed pointed to the smudgy outline of stone walls in the distance, over the low rise of a couple hills before them.  The dark shape of a decent-sized forest sprawled out to the town’s left side in a loose crescent.

“And I bet over there is where the ‘ _teleporting bandits’_ live,” Ed grinned, wiggling his fingers in a mocking ‘spooky’ gesture towards the dense stand of far-off trees.

“You shouldn’t make fun, Brother. They might pose a real threat to the people around here,” said Al disapprovingly.

“Ha, even that woman back at the tavern said the people who talked about them were probably drunk.  Humans can’t teleport, even with alchemy—the most you could do is move really quickly, or create some kind of optical illusion.”  Ed looked thoughtful.  “That’d be cool, I guess, but if they’re just doing it to rob people, there are way easier ways to make money with alchemy.”

He grinned nostalgically, then stretched.  “Ahh, I didn’t get to warm up properly this morning, and this is taking too long.  C’mon, Al. I’ll race you over the next hill!”  He broke into a run before he’d even finished the sentence, leaving Al to cry out indignantly and lurch into a clattering jog to catch up.

* * *

Being on lookout had gotten to be an incredible bore lately, mused Shu from his tree perch.

There'd been a time when he wouldn’t have even been allowed on lookout duty, because it was a constant, high-priority task that required a lot of stealth and skill and was reserved for only the most trusted members of their group. There had been several parties of traders and travelers passing through every few hours at first, and it was imperative that they catch as many as possible while still remaining as unseen and enigmatic as possible.  Otherwise their bandit cover story wouldn’t hold up for long, and the mission would be a failure.

Now, though, lookout duty was kind of a joke.  They were lucky if a single wagon or traveler passed through in an entire day, and sometimes it was two or three before they saw another person besides one of their own.

Shu wondered if they’d done a little _too_ good a job terrorizing the border townsfolk.  He flipped a throwing dagger over in his fingers idly and sighed.

“I’m sorry, is our top secret mission for Xing not exciting enough for you, Shu?”

Shu sat bolt upright, barely avoiding stabbing his own palm with his dagger in surprise.  That in itself was humiliating—for someone like him to be caught unawares when his duty was being a lookout.  But the voice—

Yin, his commander, the commander of this whole _mission_ , brushed some dark hair back behind her ear.  Not even bothering to wait for him to stammer out some excuse or apology, she said.  “There’s been a … development.  Whether it’s a good one or a bad one will depend on a lot.”

Shu glanced down at the road that wound between the trees beneath his perch in case he’d missed something, but there was no sign or sound of travelers.

“Not here,” snapped Yin irritably.  “Our spy at the Fotcett station.  Two very … _unusual_ … young men got off the train last night, heading for Regulus.”  Her gaze lifted, as if she were gazing out through the dense trees, off in the direction of the town. 

“And they should be arriving there right about now.”

* * *

Author’s Note: Hi, it’s booksong with the second chapter!  This is my first time writing in a collaborative fic, but you can find my other works under the booksong username here on AO3.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3 author: Kawdek**

* * *

Author Note: Ego sum abbas Cucaniensis

* * *

The two brothers reached the last stretch of road before Regulus, a mildly tiring respite compared to their long trek over the rocky hillsides. As they descended the footpath, they saw two men dressed in dark grey all over, from their flat, wide-brimmed hats to their pointed leather boots.  
  
Apparently the men took notice just as quickly, since they dropped their playing cards and began staring at Ed and Al as if they were men from the moon.  
  
The taller man with a handlebar moustache spoke first. "Well hold ther now. What business is yours, to be ent'ring ore humble town?"  
  
_A settlement at last,_ thought Ed. He replied, "We're here to investigate reports of unrest in Regulus of Antimony."  
  
The other man spoke: "I nev'r'eard of any Regulus of Antimony," adjusting his telescopic monocle, which obscured his glistening eye, and stroking his double-pronged white beard, which obscured his spare glass eye. "Have you ther, Wosoch?"  
  
Wosoch did a little jig and replied, "Naur, don't know any Regulus of Antimony, now do I, Turgher? Now this her's what they call Regulus of Arsenic, isn'it?"  
  
"Yar, Regulus of Arsenic it is. And not any hearsay 'bout any unrest either."  
  
"That's right, no hearsay. But we don't see what all the fuss is either. Now I c'n see you young comrades've spent a long while, ha'n't you, so stay till the morrow. Then I should suggest that you wisen up and leave the place, for the town's sake."  
  
As if by clockwork, they turned 180 degrees and resumed their game. Further questioning proved fruitless. At this point, Ed had had just about enough of the two men's riddles.  
  
"Now listen—"  
  
Ed was interrupted by the sound of a bell coming from behind him.  
  
"One hopes that one's heart is not perturbed by another's words so. One must understand that here is a place of great unbalance," said a soft yet resounding voice. Behind Ed stood an epicene figure, whose golden skin seemed to glow with iridescence.  
  
"Ah, do forgive me for my interruption. You may call me Aftersound, I suppose. It is not my name."  
  
"What is your name, then?" probed Al, just as a chord of deep notes and whistling overtones emanated from the figure's mouth.  
  
"I have heard that there are places forgotten by time. Regulus is a time forgotten by a place. For you see, it is not Regulus of Arsenic, nor Regulus of Antimony. It is Regulus of Antinomy. Antinomy: the paradox which is no paradox, a rebellion against principles in order to follow those principles."


End file.
